Field and remote observations to determine the environmental impact of agrarian reform in the Brazilian midwest

Abstract

Brazil’s Midwest is composed of four biomes, the Cerrado (Brazilian savannah), predominant in the region; the Pantanal, the largest irrigated plain on the planet; the Amazon biome; and the Atlantic Forest. The Midwest is the largest producer of grains and livestock in Brazil, activities that have a negative impact on environmental preservation. Agrarian reform redistributes land and reinforces small family farming, which many authors consider as favorable to environmental protection. The objective of this study is to characterize the impact of agrarian reform on environmental preservation and agriculture on each biome of the Brazilian Midwest. Fifty-four settlements were surveyed using direct observation and Landsat images available for the year 2014. QGIS software 2.8 Wien was applied to calculate NDVI and NDWI vegetation indices to classify areas of agriculture, pasture, and environmental preservation. Pasture and savannah land occupy the largest areas in all biomes, with the main human activity based on livestock. Most settlements in the Midwest lead to small-scale activities such as dairy farming and polyculture, practices that differ from large-scale farming based on monoculture, and are more favorable to environmental protection.